


That Fateful Summer

by Juiceduck



Category: Fall Out Boy, My Chemical Romance, Panic! at the Disco
Genre: Crimes & Criminals, Drugs, I feel as if I'm spoiling things, M/M, Summer, THERE ARE SO MANY INCORRECT THINGS HERE, also I really fucking love Pete Wentz, but also annoying af, he's always the best character, just a warning, kinda OOC, like everything is fucking weird, okay stop me, wow great tag, yo what the fuck, you know patrick's dad is important if he is tagged but not patrick himself is
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-16
Updated: 2017-05-08
Packaged: 2018-10-19 19:54:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,091
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10646931
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Juiceduck/pseuds/Juiceduck
Summary: Summer break.Gerard is nowhere near being satisfied with it. It's his last year of college and he is so done with going to school that you may would think his head would explode. Summer break however, has always been his time of sitting inside in his underwear, drinking too much coffee and sitting up until 4 am with a drawing and then waking up at 2 pm. That's how his summers have been going ever since his freshman year of high school, and he was never going to change that.That is now however until he is forced to go with his little brother on his summer job, and he meets a small, emo reject, senior from high school. All of a sudden he's flung into a gang related drug crime, weird sexual innuendos, awkward third wheeling and strange conversations with an even stranger boy.





	1. The Ryan Ross That Gerard Does Not Remember

**Author's Note:**

> yo
> 
> I have too many ideas on my mind and I really just wanted to share sOMETHING and so I did. I have other 'projects' going on as well but y'know procrastinating n shit.

Summer break; probably one of the most wonderful things to a youngster. It’s a time to finally be let free from school, not having to see the teachers or other students each and every day. There was to be no homework and just a time for the individual to relax. The nature was fresh, with beautiful flowers blooming and butterflies flying around. The water by the sea was warm enough to take a dip in, something that a lot of people were longing for during the long, cold winter days.

But despite being such an amazing thing, Gerard Way couldn’t quite agree. Sure that he loved the fact that he didn’t have to face the teachers or the disgusting students, but it wasn’t permanent. The lingering thought of having to go back to college right after was something he didn’t want to be reminded of, it was agonizingly painful. There was also people everywhere outside, fucking everywhere. The sun was set high on the sky, shining down way too brightly for anyone to appreciate it. Then there was also the disgusting little animals and insects that are active during the summer, like wasps, spiders and centipedes. Summer was nothing that he preferred.

But then came the question; why the fuck did he agree on accompanying his little brother to the beach? Well, he had promised to drive him to his (summer) work each and everyday, or well their parents had forced Gerard to drive his brother to work because apparently he had to get out of bed more times than just to go to the toilet or to get something to eat. But then Mikey, being the wonderful little brother he was, sneakily got Gerard to agree on joining him the first few days. It was their first day of summer break and he was already going to the beach.

“Where the fuck and what the fuck were you working with again?” Gerard asked as he mindlessly tapped his fingers on the steering wheel.

Mikey looked up from his phone where he probably had been texting one of his many newfound friends. Unlike Gerard, Mikey had managed to get a group of friends consisting of three people and from those three people, they had expanded into a group of ten. It was amazing to the older one, he had himself never managed to get more than one friend who on top of that was his childhood friend, Ray. Ray had however gone to study in another country, which sucked major ass for him. Gerard hadn’t managed to gain any new friends in college either other than a shady guy called Matt.

“Well you remember Ryan, the little Freshman you once met?” Gerard nodded at his brother's words, the small scene of Ryan awkwardly stomping into his room and then getting so embarrassed when he realized it wasn’t Mikey, but a half naked Gerard sitting in the room - great first impression. “He’s working with me at this shop, or well I’m actually working with him. He tried to convince me that it would be good for me if I worked to gain some cash for college and I guess he’s not totally off the map there. Fun thing is that he also tried to convince me to join him by telling me that his boyfriend was working with this hot lifeguard dude. I guess that’s what got me in the end.”

Gerard laughed slightly at that, impressed that a person he’s never met had managed to convince Mikey to work. It was probably not because of that however - maybe only in the slightest - but it was mostly for the money. It could also be for the fact that Ryan was a little bitch and convinced Mikey to join him, the guy was apparently a killer at getting people to agree to what he said, no matter how dumb it sounded. He had once argued over how _Nickelback_ wasn’t that bad of a band and somehow managed to win it. The debate club had never seen such a fierce debater.

The twenty-one year old parked the car in a surprisingly filled parking lot, and he groaned loudly as he took the key out. He banged his head against the wheel three times, gave his brother one of the fakest smiles ever and got out from the car. The second that the warmth hit him he realized that choosing a leather jacket maybe hadn’t been the best idea, but fuck it, he was a major jacket slut. It’s not like he had anything else to wear anyways.

“Mikey,” a voice called out as the two boys had gotten out of the car. They simultaneously turned around to face a boy running towards them, brown locks bouncing against his face. He was wearing a pair of swim shorts - with small hearts on it - and a plain white t-shirt.

“Hey, Ryan,” Mikey said and raised his hand at the teen as a greeting gesture. “See you’re already ready.” Gerard squinted his eyes at Ryan, who he didn’t even recognize as Ryan. The Ryan he knew had been kinda short, wearing loads of eye makeup like eyeshadow and eyeliner and had been undeniably awkward. This boy had grown to be what Gerard would guess to his own height, ditched the ridiculous makeup and didn’t look near as awkward any longer. Apparently puberty had done him good.

“Ryan,” Ryan presented himself as, as he neared them and stretched his arm out to Gerard, who must have looked absolutely terrified. He didn’t shake hands with people like at all, which always made for an extremely awkward situation.

Mikey sighed next to him and rolled his eyes at his very much lame brother. “This is my brother, Gerard. The two of you haven’t met in two years so it doesn’t surprise me that neither of you seem to recognize the other.” He grinned in the slightest as he noticed the horrified look on Ryan’s face, and the teen slowly retreated back with his hand. The exact scene that Gerard had playing in his head earlier must have played right before Ryan’s eyes as a bad Vietnam flashback. Gerard had changed in a two year period after all, and no longer had his shaggy, greasy, shoulder length black hair, but had instead dyed it platinum blond and cut it short. He did it for a dare with Matt right before summer break of college, so it was relatively new for him as well.

“Eh, yeah, right,” Ryan said awkwardly and rubbed the back of his neck. “How about we get down to the shop, ya?” The brothers nodded and the three of them started to walk down towards the beach. There were already a bunch of people there, but Gerard knew that it would be at least three times as much around 2 pm, which was when the weather usually was the best. He didn’t look forward to it in any sort of way.

“Yeah, um we’re getting another co-worker tomorrow, by the way,” Ryan said as they walked down the stairs to the beach. “His name’s Frank and he’s a Senior at our school. I met him when I arrived here and Mr. Stump said that he’d start working tomorrow. He looked pretty damn scary though, black hair cast slightly over his eye, lip-ring and earrings. I think I even managed to see a scorpion tattoo on his neck, terrifying to me. I hope he’s no gangster or whatever, you know how we have drug problems and all here.”

“It's probably nothing to worry about,” Mikey said and lightly pushed Ryan, who almost fell down the last set of stairs because of the small action. “Sorry dude- but I don’t think he’s anything dangerous. Your boyfriend isn’t necessarily the most normal person here either, and you in freshman year was the worst thing ever. Gee was in the emo scene as well and so could that Frank be, y’know how people like you two just roam around here.”

“Hey I was never emo.” Gerard muttered and glared at his brother, who playfully rolled his eyes. Ryan then went into a full blown argument on how he never was any sort of emo or scene kid, and that he just simply liked wearing makeup and how makeup was fucking great for a guy, because a lot of times a guy is not beautiful. He was on the debate club for a reason after all.

The three arrived to the small shop where two boys were standing by the desk, talking to a man who stood behind it. They were both shirtless and wearing douche-y sunglasses, or at least according to Gerard. People who wear sunglasses always looked like douches, except for his little brother, he could pull it off without looking like a douche.

“Ry! You came back!” One of the boys said, whose brown hair was styled into a quiff and sunglasses propped on his nose. “I never thought you were going to come back, Pete here was saying that a guy automatically looks better if he has tattoos, while I don’t agree. Like you’re pretty but you don’t have any tattoos, and neither do I. Like people with tattoos may be hot but that doesn’t make them automatically hotter, does it?”

“What the fuck,” Ryan mumbled as he rubbed his temples, seemingly done with the guy’s shit. “Tattoos are all up for preferences, it’s something that an individual in question has to chose whether they find attractive or not. While Pete may think that a person is immediately attractive when they have tattoos, you may think something else. It is all different from person to person, which is why it’s something that is hard debate over. It is possible, yes, but as most people already have a set opinion on something it may be hard to change that certain someone’s opinion. Only a skilled debater can do that and personally I wouldn’t say that either of you are, and it would most likely just end up being a yelling game and then you two would start fighting.”

The blond behind quiff-boy snorted and crossed his arms over his well-trained and tattooed chest. “I have enough moral to know that it’s wrong to start yelling at each other during a debate as that is completely and utterly ridiculous and only makes my argument fall flat. I was actually one of the most skilled debaters on the Flash team during my sophomore year of high school, Mr. I’m-The-History’s-Most-Skilled-Star-Debater. But alas, soccer was what got me in the end.” being the drama queen the dude seemed to be, he put a hand to chest and sighed dramatically.

“Wow, the debate team, how cool,” Gerard said, voice dripping with sarcasm. “When I went to high school I was an artist. My art teacher still works there - from what I know - and I know she loved me very much and put up almost every piece of art I drew. If I am lucky enough she still has them there, but I could also be damned and she could have taken them down.”

“Oh my god, you’re Gerard Way, ain’t ‘cha?” quiff-boy gasped and excitedly clapped his hands.

“Oh god, Brendon,” Ryan sighed. “You’re right but dude, how have you missed that? You’ve been friends with Mikey for what? Half a year, and you still didn’t know?” quiff-boy, or Brendon seemed to be thinking for a second. He looked up into the bright sky as he let his arms hang by his sides, almost looking dead in a sort of way. Seconds ticked by with the boys all eagerly waiting for his answer, which after a few more seconds was a small laughter.

“I don’t get it…” Ryan face palmed, maybe a little too hard as he managed to hit his nose in the process and he let out a pained sound.

“What he means is that you’ve known Mikey for half a year and still haven’t figured out that the two of them are related,” Pete said as he emerged from behind him, and Brendon let out a loud “aha”. “Even I who have never seen the two of them other than on your SnapChat story, where I haven’t even seen the blond dude, can guess that. I mean if you look at the way they just kinda are you can see the awkwardness radiating from the two of them, which makes them either best friends, brothers or boyfriends. Now just looking at their faces I wouldn’t have guessed they were brothers really, they’re not that alike. They didn’t look like boyfriends in any sort of way, nothing said such a thing about them so I scratched that. Then I realized it made even more since that Ryan thought you were fucking dumb, if they were brothers. See where I’m coming from?”

“Wow, you must be a fucking detective, great job,” now it was Mikey’s turn to use sarcasm, and both he and Gerard started to ironically applaud him.

“And that’s the last evidence, they both use hella lot of sarcasm apparently,” Pete said and proudly placed his hands at his hips. “They are both fairly attractive as well, so I guess it runs in the family.” He winked at the two brothers, gaining two completely different reactions. One of them blushed while the other raised on one of his eyebrows, seemingly done with the guy’s shit. No surprise there, Ryan was glaring holes to the guy’s skull while Brendon… Well he was smiling at the dude, but to Gerard they both seemed like slight assholes and major idiots.

“Boys, it is highly entertaining to watch all of you argue like animals but I truly think you need to get to work now,” the man behind the desk spoke up and the five boys directed their attention towards him. “The clock is very soon 11 am which means it’s time for us to open up. Pete and Brendon, it’s also time for you to go to work as well. Actually your work started awhile ago but seeing as there’s barely any people here as compared to what it will be, I guess I could give you a free ticket. I don’t want the two of you slacking around and standing here though, you will distract your boyfriends/lovers.”

“Pete’s not in my romantic interest, sir,” Mikey corrected him as a matter of fact. The man blinked a few times as his gaze travelled between the two. “I don’t even know who he is, other than his name is Pete and he has some pretty cool tattoos.”

“Oh thank you indeed,” Pete thanked him and blew a kiss to Mikey, who gave him an unimpressed glare in return. “But me and my great warrior friend Brendon shall now go do our duty. Be sure to watch me as I try to be the true gentleman I am, babe.” Casting a last glance at Mikey, he and Brendon left the scene. But instead of going to do their work they walked over to a couple of people at the beach and started to talk to them instead. Or maybe their work was to talk to random people at the beach. One thing for sure was that they sure as hell were social butterflies at least.

The man behind the counter told the three boys to get ready, but quickly noticed that there was a third worker there, one that was not Frank. “Eh, I dunno how to say this really,” Gerard said as he mindlessly looked around the beach, trying to avoid eye contact with the man. “My brother here, Mikey, is going to work here- eh well obviously. But like he said that I should hang around him a few days of the week because apparently I need some fresh air and color on my skin when he himself also is pale as fuck- oh shit- oh swore again sorry. But now I came off topic, basically I’m not here to work or anything I’ll just hang here and hopefully not disturb anyone?”

A loud laughter left the man’s mouth, and he even had to clutch his stomach because of the hilarity. The three boys awkwardly exchanged looks as they had to wait for the laughter to die out. Apparently, Gerard was hilarious to him. It wasn’t that fun, he was normally that awkward and for the others it was just a normal dose of Gerard Way. Okay not for Ryan, but he had other people surrounding him which were weird.

“Sorry boy, you’re just a lot like my own son,” he said and wiped away a tear from his right eye. “It’s fine, as long as you don’t talk too much. Ryan’s boyfriend, Brendon who you were talking to earlier, is pretty much a walking talking radio, never shutting up. He’s constantly coming up with new things to say and I have seen the way it’s been distracting Ryan from work and now with my son’s best friend as a lifeguard - this is going to be hell basically.” He laughed again and told the boys to get inside the shop.

The shop itself was a rather small thing. It was like a little cabin, if the cabin had one of the short sides totally wrecked down and made into a counter basically. Think of it like in a shop; but just sticking out of the side of a wall instead and looking hella lot more like a cabin which was supposed to be placed in the woods. Numerous of tourists had for some reason pointed it out before, but Gerard had gotten accustomed to it by now. He used to go to the beach with his family when he was younger, but as he got into his teenage years he realized that he didn’t like people in any sort of way.

He had never been inside of the shop, more than once that is and that was because Mikey had somehow managed to pick the lock and get inside. Gerard had gotten the mission to get his five year old brother back, and surprisingly succeeded in it. The two were like ninjas when they were kids, now they were just two, awkward, nerdy brothers. That title was well earned as well.

“Okay so you boys understand what to do now?” Mr. Stump - Gerard had caught his name - told Ryan and Mikey and the two youngsters nodded. “Great! I’m supposed to help Patrick with some preparations for his performance, maybe you would like to come? If you’re interested in music- oh who am I kidding of course the two of you are. Ryan, you’re even in a band with your boyfriend and have played numerous of times here at the beach. I’m forgetting things, does this mean I’m turning old?”

“Oh no no,” Gerard said and waved with his hand dismissively. “I forget things all the time and I’m not even in my mid-twenties yet. Maybe I actually am turning old and is in rejection because I really don’t want to turn old.”

Mr. Stump smiled at him, and patted him almost sympathetically on his left shoulder. “It’s okay, college is mind ruining. That is probably why we forget so many things, college is killing off all teenagers and making them into oldies. Quick, Ryan, don’t go to college!”

“I’m not even going to college… I’m starting my Junior year of high school.” he mumbled. It was obvious that he wasn’t that into Mr. Stump’s radical personality. To Gerard he was fun though, most adults he knew were bland and didn’t want to joke about such things. He was also incredibly easy to talk to.

“Are you starting college?” Mr. Stump almost smashed his hands down onto Mikey’s shoulders and shook the boy lightly. He looked down right terrified as Mr. Stump’s maniac looking face was maybe an inch or two away from his own.

“Eh, yes, after this summer break actually,” Mikey said and brushed away some of his brown hair which had landed in his eyes. “But I don’t believe that is the problem. You see here, Gerard has always been quite the forgetful person and the fact that he either sleeps more than a male lion or less than a walrus doesn’t help his case. Sleeping too much and too little has proven to be very bad for your brain and has been connected with premature death. Memory has also been proven to be connected to the amount of sleep you get, so if you happen get less than the amount of sleep you should get - which is about eight to ten hours for my brother - it means that it will affect his memory badly.”

Gerard blinked at his brother. Mikey was known in the family for being able to ramble up random facts that no one else would remember than him. It could be quite useful in certain situations for example when you played quizzes because ⅔ times he would know the damn answer. He was incredibly smart but also so fucking dumb at the same time. Trivia was his thing, not common sense.

“Okay well you kid are safe to go to college,” Mr. Stump said and let go of Mikey’s shoulders. “Can I trust the three of you while I’m away for an hour or two to help my son? Because you need to keep away the ten year olds and Brendon and Pete, also get the two of them to do their work and not to hang around here. They always hang around the youngsters who work here and since Brendon recently got together with Ryan - finally - there will probably be even more talking. Or even less considering they’ll be sucking faces-”

“We get it, okay?” Ryan yelled and pushed the old man slightly. “Just go and help Patrick, he’s probably starting to get pissed over the fact that you’re never appearing.” His cheeks were bright red and it was obvious that the topic of him and Brendon was something he wasn’t used to yet. Gerard thought it was cute though.

Mr. Stump laughed one last time before he said goodbye to the boys and left the little shop. The three of them - or well Mikey and Ryan really - positioned themselves by the counter, and in the spawn of a few seconds there was a little boy with his father there. He was almost painfully shy as he asked for a strawberry flavored popsicle, but both Ryan and Mikey handled it without any problem. Ryan was naturally nice while Mikey however more or less had to fake it, teachers had been a very great training during his high school years.

After about an hour of work and doing nothing than sitting and doodling for Gerard, Brendon and Pete popped up. Apparently the boys had missed when Pete saved a small Scottish Terrier from drowning, while Brendon swam out to save a beach ball which had floated out to ‘dangerous’ levels of water. Everyone could see through the obvious lie, but they let it slide as they understood it was just for trying to impress on Ryan. He however thought it sounded a lot cooler than the others but you could also see the major skepticism on his face as well.

“So I heard you guys have been charming some women over here,” Pete said as he picked his teeth with a toothpick. “Can't blame ‘em, y’all are attractive. Even the lad in the back!” Gerard looked up from his sketch pad and frowned. Pete was looking directly at him, wiggling his eyebrows in an overly creepy manner. Yeah, he was hauntingly creepy.

“Well there’s mostly middle aged women who want to ogle at all the men from here, so that’s the reason why you’ve seen them,” Ryan answered and pushed away Brendon’s head from the counter, apparently he wasn’t allowed to lean onto it. “And those women are too unlucky anyways, I’m taken and I barely think Brendon would accept anyone flirting with me other than you, because you fucking flirt with everyone.”

Pete innocently batted his eyelashes at the brunette, who stuck out his tongue at him. “George, don’t do that, we all know that is some immature shit to do.”

“George?” Mikey asked as a grin spread out on his lips. Ryan groaned loudly as he banged his head against the counter at the same time earning a sympathetic frown from Brendon.

“Didn’t I tell you not to call me that, Peter?”

“Actually, it would have been more fitting if you called me either Lewis or Kingston, not Peter,” Pete snorted at him and flipped away the hair lying on his shoulder, hair that did not exist. “Actually my name is pretty damn fancy to me and not something that I am ashamed of. My father may not have been that creative when it came to naming me but I still think that I got a rad as hell name. But whatever, I think we should get back to work and not suck your boyfriend’s face.” He glared over to Brendon and Ryan, who were making out without any shame.

“Don’t think they hear you,” Gerard commented from the back. “People like them are disgusting, the ones who feel like they need to show all of their love in front of everyone else and all. Disgusting.”

Pete grinned at him, something he seemed to do a lot. “Well honey, we’ll see about that,” he turned his attention towards Mikey, who was leaning onto the counter with a popsicle in his mouth. “But before I leave, I want something that’s yours, other than your virginity that is.” Pete took ahold of the stick of the popsicle and pulled it out of Mikey’s mouth, surprising him.

“What the hell is your problem.” Mikey said as he tried to reach out for his popsicle. Pete being the sneaky bitch he was immediately took a step backwards and put the iced candy in his mouth, earning an offended gasp from Mikey. “Okay I met you like an hour ago and you already feel the right to take my food away from me, I am violated.”

Of course Mikey was making a bigger deal out of it than it was and Gerard could clearly see that he was just being a drama queen. But for some reason his usually reserved little brother felt the need to more or less flirt back with Pete, only in his own way. There was no way that a true Way was going to openly flirt back with someone.

“Just felt like cooling down a little, and you just happened to be here,” Pete said and brushed it off as if he just had borrowed a pen for a second or two. “Breadbin! We gotta go, work is calling for us.” He kicked - yes he kicked - Brendon in his side, making the teen lose his contact with Ryan and falling to the ground. Pete started to laugh loudly as Brendon got up from the ground. Ryan was trying to console him, but Brendon just stomped angrily away - but not before telling Ryan he loved him. Pete followed suit, thanking Mikey for the free popsicle.

Gerard found their relationship amusing. It was almost as if Brendon and Ryan had gotten together and Pete was the third wheel, although a rejecting third wheel and someone who kept flirting with other people. If it now happened to be that Pete got together with Mikey, Gerard would be the fifth wheel. Not that he was planning on hanging out with the four of them, but if he had to. He was forced by Mikey to join them anyways and since Ryan and Brendon was together and Pete seemed to friends with them, it was most likely to be the five of them.

The rest of the day went by smoothly. There was one teenage girl who tried to flirt with Ryan, but he scared her off by accidentally swallowing the whole lollipop he was eating, making himself look like a fool in the process. Mikey managed to get another guy’s number, much to the other two’s amusement. Then Pete just accidentally threw a beach ball at the guy so he smashed his face down in the ice-cream he was eating. It was only Gerard who had managed to see it but he decided to keep shut about it, there was no need to be a snitch.

Brendon returned in the middle of his shift to make out with Ryan for two minutes and then left without saying a word. Gerard managed to spill his whole fizzy drink over himself but refused to change into the speedos he was given by Ryan, who didn’t want Gerard’s clothes to get ruined. He stood out with the coldness in his lap and chatted away with the two boys, which was harder said than done. It felt as if someone was trying to freeze his balls off of him.

At was about four pm that Mr. Stump came back and dismissed the boys. He had gotten some business to deal with at home which was why it took such a long time for him to get back again. Apparently one of Patrick’s - his son - amplifiers set on fire and they had go buy him a new one. The three boys were let go, or more correctly Ryan and Mikey were, Gerard could have gone any second that he wanted. Mr. Stump told him he was welcome any time that he wanted which was surprising to Gerard. All he had done all day was distracting the other two and spilling a drink he didn’t even pay for. Not that Mr. Stump ever would get to know that though.

“See you tomorrow, and hopefully you as well, Gerard,” Ryan said as he took farewell of the boys. “I’ll have to wait an hour before Brendon and Pete are let off their shift, my ride home and all.” He clicked his tongue at his misfortune, and both brothers nodded. They parted ways as Ryan walked over to the two lifeguards who currently seemed to be in an argument, while the two brothers walked over to where Gerard parked the car.

“Well this day was so adventurous I could even compare it to my sex life.” Gerard said as he sat down in the driver's seat.

Mikey snorted at that as he put on his seat belt, looking himself in the mirror once before to turning to Gerard. “If you join me tomorrow - which you will because mom and dad said that you will - maybe you’ll get along with Frank. Based on the description that Ryan gave on his appearance he’s like a punker, or whatever. You like guys like that, don’t you?” Gerard rolled his eyes and put the key in the ignition.

“Whatever, you seem to have a certain Pete after you,” He started up the car and reversed out of the parking lot in one quick movement, which he may regretted slightly as it flung Mikey forward in his seat. “It’s not like Frank or whatever is going to be my holy god or some shit, he’s just a random emo dude who’s a Senior at my old high school. Amazing that you two never turned out to be friends really.”

“Yeah yeah, fuck you too,” Mikey mumbled, making Gerard chuckle. “We’ll see about it, I could even bet ten bucks on that you’ll gone on your first date with him within the first two weeks. I know what kind of person you are, you hit it off quickly with someone and then it leads to nothing.”

“Shut up, I'm not like that in any sort of way,” Gerard muttered as he tried to hide the fact that he was blushing. “Just because you fuck on the first date.” Mikey gasped loudly and put his hand to his chest, pretending to be the drama queen he really wasn't. They started to argue over their dating habits, never really coming to a conclusion. There was no real point to the argument anyways, it wasn’t even an argument to begin with. The two of them liked to tease each other for their love lives as they were so radically different.

“Well, if it all just goes to hell I at least have a Frank to talk to,” Gerard said as he took a turn down their road. “If he’s not a major douche, for all I know he could be.” Mikey hummed beside him, already lost in his own thoughts again.

If Frank did turn out to be a douche Gerard would be sure to buy him a pair of sunglasses, the certified membership for douchiness.


	2. Frank Iero, The Guy Who Apparently Was Thirty Times Cooler Than Gerard Thought

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> fuhk I have so much work to do kill me

“Do you ever think Frank will get here?” Ryan asked worriedly as he leaned over the counter, trying to see if he could spot his new employee. Gerard looked up at the teen from where he was sitting by the small table he had sat by yesterday.

Of course Ryan was to worry evidently if the new guy would show up, he seemed to be that kind of person who would worry too much and get all anxious and impatient. While Ryan worried his ass off of him, Mikey was casually leaning against the counter, chin placed in hand. He had his usual poker face which could indicate anything, but Gerard knew that he too was starting to get annoyed by Ryan’s low-key complaints.

“It’s literally only been five minutes, maybe he had something coming up for a sec or he just couldn’t find to the right location,” Mikey muttered and yawned. “It may be his first day of work, but we don’t know the guy. Something probably came up and he’ll show up any second.”

He was right as well. As fast as the last word left his lips there was a short boy standing by the counter, black hair slightly swept over his right eye. He was wearing a black hoodie - nothing that Gerard ever would comment on because he himself was wearing a leather jacket - with a Misfits shirt underneath. There was also a lip-ring hooked to the left side of his lips, one that reflected the shimmering light of the sun.

“‘Sup,” he greeted the two boys by the counter. “Sorry I’m late, my mom woke me up later than what I would have wanted her too. I’m Frank, by the way, if you didn’t notice.”

“Oh we sure did…” Ryan mumbled sourly under his breath. Mikey cast him a glare before turning back to Frank, telling him not to listen to Ryan as he was a bitching little maggot. The insult seemed to surprise Ryan as he gasped dramatically and started a monologue on how maggots were really necessary in the world. Apparently, they could be life saving if you had wounds as they could eat at it, somehow making it better as it killed off bacteria and cleaned the wound. Frank didn’t seem interested in the slightest however as he only asked if he could come inside, earning a nod from Mikey who told Gerard to unlock the door.

“Thanks,” Frank said as he stepped inside and smiled in the slightest at Gerard, who only nodded at him. “Are you working here as well? I only got the instructions that there was going to be two people here, not a third one.”

“Oh god no,” Gerard said quickly and leaned back in his chair. “My brother Mikey, the guy who didn’t insult you, told me to join him. Apparently I need more friends or some bullshit like that, I don’t fucking know. All I’ve been doing is sitting here drawing which admittedly is basically what I would have done if I was at home as well, so there’s no noticeable difference really.”

Gerard’s days on summer break usually consisted of him sitting in the same clothes for three days and drawing while blasting his music way too loud for anyone to enjoy but him. Luckily for his parents they worked most of the part during the summer, so they didn’t have to hear the music playing that reached all the way to their neighbors. Since no one ever ‘visited’ Gerard because he literally had one friend, who didn’t even live in the same country to begin with, he didn’t have to worry about someone seeing him in the shape he usually was. There was that one summer two years ago that Gerard literally didn’t shower for three weeks. The grease in his hair had almost started to look natural.

“Ah, understandable, you look like you need sunlight,” Frank may not have noticed that the comment was to be interpreted as rude by the majority of people, but as Gerard had been called a vampire a lot of times someone saying such a thing to him didn’t even bother him any longer. “But who am I tell you really, I’m pretty damn pale myself. But like do I really need to go outside? It’s a crucial question to everyone.”

Gerard laughed lightly, finding Frank to be easier to talk to than the other boys. He didn’t get to reply though as Ryan decided it was an amazing idea to start going over the rules, do’s and don’ts and overall tips on things. Frank wasn’t going to be allowed to stand as a cashier or someone to just talk to, but instead he was going to work in the back area, packing up things and putting it up on shelves. It was a small shop, but it was very popular so demand for supplies was most of the time very high.

Frank looked to be in pain as Ryan went on and on about things, letting the teen know that his knowledge was far greater than the others’. It took him maybe an hour just to get through it all, mostly because he kept on talking about things that was quite out of context.

“Will he ever shut up?” Gerard asked his brother and got up from his chair. He’d been sitting still in it for an hour and it was starting to show in his body, or at least feel. His legs had fallen asleep.

“Don’t think so,” Mikey said where he was leaning against the counter, eyes set on his brother. “Ryan is known for talking hella lot, hence why we’re friends. I met him during music class and shit, he was such a great musician that he requested to be with the upperclassmen. Our teacher never liked that he moved to our class, and because of the fact that I always just sat in the corner and played bass in peace he said Ryan should sit with me. That was the first lesson someone spoke to me the whole fucking time, he wouldn’t shut the fuck up. It was admittedly annoying but,” he shrugged as a way of brushing the topic off and only a few seconds later Ryan emerged from the back with Frank close behind him.

“That guy never shuts his mouth, does he?” Frank asked Gerard quietly as he swept up close by him. Gerard shook his head and smiled, whispering back on how Ryan - just like his boyfriend - was a walking talking radio. But compared to Brendon, it was usually something reasonable that came out of his mouth.

“Well then Frank, think you’ve learnt anything?” Ryan asked as he put his hands on his hips, something he seemed to do when he wanted to show some authority, Gerard had noticed. Frank however glanced between the two brothers, both whom nodded towards him as a way of signaling that he was to tell Ryan what he had “learned”. Ryan was usually serious in situations others would take as joke.

Frank cleared his throat and pulled at his fringe in the slightest before letting it fall slightly above his right eye again. “All I am supposed to do is hang in the back. I am not supposed to cause a ruckus, nor I am to steal anything of value. Although during lunch time I am allowed to use some of the foods to make myself something to eat, unless my name is Mikey because then I am apparently allowed to sexually lick things on sticks at anytime,” he sent a smirk the brunette’s way, and Mikey rolled his eyes playfully. “If I’m ever to wonder anything I am to ask either Ryan or Mikey, not Gerard as he does not work here. There are lotsa more things here, blah blah, yatti yatta I get it. I’m going to be seventeen in October, not seven.”

Ryan snorted in a mocking way at that and glared over to Frank before he turned around to look out at the beach. Gerard had to contain his laughter and he glanced over at Frank, who was biting his thin bottom lip as a way of trying his hardest at not bursting out in laughter as well. Ryan was acting like a baby and neither of the boys seemed to be able to take it seriously.

“Okay but we’ll get some resources at twelve, meaning that will be the time when you’ll get to work in the back,” Mikey said and eyed Frank almost sexually as he licked on the lollipop, just to fuck with the guy. “During the mean time I was thinking that you could take my brother with you to pick up some trash that people leave behind them at the beach. I know it doesn’t sound like the best job in the world and Gerard stop glaring at me, but since you’re a new employee and someone with what I would guess to be zero experience, I thought that you could get something to do in the meantime.”

Frank sighed heavily as he crossed his arms over his chest. He didn’t seem to be too glad over having to pick up trash from the ground, something that Gerard was with him on. He didn’t even work there but he knew that Mikey just wanted him to get out and get some sun on his skin or at least get accustomed to the beach again. Gerard had stopped going to it once he started high school for the fear of meeting someone he knew.

“I’ll pick up the trash, since it’s my job and not yours,” Frank informed Gerard as the two boys were searching for a plastic bag in the back of the shop. “It’s nice of you to join me though, it’s hella boring doing shit like this alone and you seem like a fairly nice guy.” He grinned widely as he found a big, blue plastic bag and took it.

“I am honored, Frank,” Gerard said in a made-up lady voice as the two boys took the back exit out of the shop. “You seem cool too. Black is such a nice color to wear at summer, picks up the warmth that I utterly hate so bad. But you have a Misfits shirt and I beg to the gods that you do not have it just because you like the logo but that you also listen to their music.” Gerard had met multiple people who just wore a shirt with their logo because it was ‘cool’.

“Oh god no, I do listen to them,” Frank assured him and closed the door after them, the automatic lock making a clicking sound as it shut. “They’re great, don’t you think? Punk is like such an underrated music genre to me. I know like Ramones, The Clash and Sex Pistols popularized it ‘n shit but it kinda died with the bands. There’s other cool punk bands too but they mostly just fade into the abyss of random bands that no one have heard of. It’s pretty damn unfair, I wouldn't want to be in a band that would just be forgotten after its time.” He scrunched his nose up in a cute little way, and Gerard smiled to himself.

“Can you play anything? Instrument, I mean.” Gerard said as the two of them started to pick up trash that was by the back of the shop. Apparently people really felt like throwing stuff behind there, probably because no one would see them. There was a lot of cigarette butts as well and more beer bottles and cans than what Gerard needed to see.

“Yeah, guitar,” Frank picked up one of the cigarette butts and threw it into the bag. “My dad wants me to play drums but, meh. I always found guitar to be more interesting, you can’t smoke and play the drums at the same time, y’know.” Gerard grinned and the two boys continued on with a light conversation as they picked up the trash. It took them a good few minutes and as they were done with the back they moved out onto the open beach, something that Gerard dreaded.

Frank did seem slightly more positive though as a small smile was playing on his pierced lips. He wasn’t as bothered by the people around him as Gerard was, and it had been ages ago since Gerard had been to the beach. He was certain that no one even knew who he was and if they did it was because he was Mikey’s older brother and the guy whose drawings were everywhere in the art classroom. His old days in high school were just a blur.

“Hot lifeguards I see,” Frank commented as he picked up a glass shard, stroking his index finger over the sharp sides. “Think one of them would like to be boned?”

Gerard snorted out loud as he picked up a Coca Cola can and threw it into the plastic bag that Frank was holding. “Both of them are hella gay, I can tell you that, but I barely think either of them will be interested in you. The brunette is Brendon, Ryan’s boyfriend,” he saw how Frank’s face twisted into something sick but as fast as the expression appeared it disappeared. “But he seems relatively nice, just quite loud and talkative. The blond is Pete, who you may have a bigger chance with. I don’t know the guy at all but he seems like a flirt who wants to fuck my brother, so you’ll have to see about that one.”

“Your brother is a fuckin’ sex machine, man,” Frank commented and the small smile playing on Gerard’s lips fell, alongside the giddy feeling he had in his body. “Runs in the family, eh?” He winked at Gerard whose smile appeared again, and the older winked back at him, making them both burst out in laughter.

They continued picking up trash that was lying here and there. It was mostly glass shards like on any other beach, and Frank managed to dig up a bikini top from the sand. They kept on joking about random stuff and talked about everything from music to conspiracy theories. Gerard was glad that he could talk to someone other than Mikey, and Frank seemed to be that exact person he’d wished for.

“Well what do we have here?” Someone suddenly said behind the two working boys. Just before Gerard got to turn around however, someone slapped his ass, _hard_. He yelped slightly and quickly whipped around with a glare prominent on his face.

“What the fuck- oh it’s you again,” Gerard muttered as Pete started to walk beside the two boys. “What kind of person are you? We don’t know each other and already you’re slapping my ass. If I was a person who gave a fuck and you were a total stranger I would have called you out for sexual harassment. But since you know Brendon, who’s Ryan’s boyfriend, who’s Mikey’s friend I guess I’ll let that slide.”

“You mean none of you are really friends?” Frank asked.

“Okay, but like the only reason why we even are hanging together is because of Ryan and Mikey,” Gerard explained. “I had no idea that Pete even existed until yesterday, and neither that Brendon did.”

“Your life must have been empty and boring without me,” Pete said as he slung an arm around Gerard’s shoulders, something that proved to be a little harder than what he originally thought as Gerard was a few inches taller than him. “But now I am here to spice it up. Maybe you want to join in on my gay orgy that I’ll be having later?”

“Seriously I do not in any way understand you,” Gerard said with scepticism lacing his voice, but Pete simply laughed loudly, somewhat finding his words amusing. “No but really, you’re fucking weird. Also why the hell do you just assume I’m gay? I’m more likely to be straight than to be gay, stop seeming so unrealistic.”

“Baby, everyone would like to have a gay orgy with me, it’s written in the books,” Pete said and started to brush his fingertips against Gerard’s neck, tickling him slightly. “I whoo all the ladies and gentlemen into bed. I go up to them, whisper something sexy into their ear, start kissing them and whoops now my dick’s up their ass. Or vagina, whether it’s a guy or a girl doesn’t really matter to me. Do girls enjoy having anal sex? Why am I asking you both of you are hella gay.”

“Why do you assume such things about me?” Frank asked, voice cracking at the end of the sentence, almost as if he was horrified by Pete's statement.

“Well everyone are gay here,” Pete said. “Gerard here is an obvious gay guy, something about him just screams gay. Brendon- erm my lifeguard friend, is even more obvious as he literally introduces himself as “Brendon Urie, gay and proud of it, bitch”. The first day of high school he barged into the classroom yelling about how gay he was which admittedly sounds fucking hilarious. Then Ryan always checks cute boys out, or well until he got together with Brendon and now he just stares at his ass all the time. Mikey doesn’t necessarily scream gay like his brother but I did notice that he was staring at my chest more than what a straight guy would, and then he didn’t reject my flirting attempts so he’s most likely gay as well. And then you… whoever the fuck you are, are wearing all black in the middle of the summer, that’s like hella gay.”

“How is that gay?”

“Frank, Gerard!” The three boys turned around 90° to see Ryan waving them over further away on the beach. “And Pete apparently, well whatever. The shipping has arrived, I need the two of you to come over here!”

Before Pete got to answer how wearing all black in the middle of the summer was gay, Gerard had pulled the shorter boy away from him. Pete was now a hazard, someone who was not to be associated with. Avoiding him was probably going to be harder than what Gerard wished for, but he could always try. Even if Pete was like a fucking magician and popped up anywhere and everywhere.

“Please refrain from talking to Pete while both of you are on duty,” Gerard and Frank were met by Ryan’s words as they stepped inside the shop and the two boys exchanged a confused look. “It’s not good for either of your productivity.” His back was turned towards the two of them as he stood and counted some money, seemingly not really up for conversing with them.

Mikey gave them an apologetic smile. “Come on, since Ryan doesn’t seem to like Frank I guess I’ll have to show you what the fuck to do.” A grunt was heard from Ryan who obviously didn’t agree. Or maybe he did, no one could really tell.

“How come you have such a huge storage room and all?” Frank asked as the door separating the back and front closed behind him. It truly was big for such a small shop, with food, water and souvenirs lining up the shelves. The shop was one with diversity but it mostly sold food for the people to buy, apparently tourists didn’t bring their own food and bought some most of the times. Then the shop also had some charm to it that attracted most people who visited the beach.

“It’s popular, putting it simply,” Mikey said as he picked up a clipboard with papers attached to it that was lying on a small table. “I also find it weird that Mr. Stump let three people work here at once when it’s usually just two. But he did mention that it may be a busy season as the weather is going to be extraordinary and spectacular, leading to more people visiting the beach. It’s just speculations but it is most likely to become true,” he looked through some of the papers, pulled a bunch of them away and gave the clipboard to his brother. “We’ve already gotten the stuff here - it’s in the corner next to the emergency exit door - so I thought that Frank could pack them up while Gerard checked the things off. You gotta count them when you pack them up as well”.”

“Why am I going to work?” Gerard questioned, crossing his arms over his chest. It’s not like it was his work to do anyways, he had only agreed on joining his brother.

“Don’t need to, just thought it would be nice to Frank. Also, I’ll give you 50% of today’s revenue.”

Gerard stood firm where he glared at his brother, but after only a few seconds he sighed and muttered ‘fine’, resigning. He didn’t have anything to do anyways and Frank was the one who had to do the heavy job. All Gerard had to do was just to check things off a list. But then again it was work for fucks sake and whether it was just to check things off a list or actually doing some real physically craving work didn’t matter, it was still work.

Mikey clapped his hands together and smiled genuinely at his brother before he wished the two good luck and exited the storage room. Right after the door shut behind him, Frank let out a low and long groan. He didn’t seem too pumped over the idea of packing things up and really there was no surprise there. Frank was short and would probably not be able to reach up on the highest shelves and the fact that he had to carry - probably - heavy things wasn’t too welcoming.

“Just to get to work then?” Gerard said and grinned at Frank, who only rolled his eyes. There was a mischievous glint in his eyes however which hinted that he wasn’t as mad as he made himself up to be.

Frank walked over to the boxes standing against the wall on the other end of the storage room. The room had about four shelves with things lining up on them, three fridges with things inside there as well, and an emergency exit door in the far left corner from the entrance. The shelves themselves created a sort of labyrinth and under every product there was a tag telling the viewer what it was. There was also a table to the left of the door with a chair in front of it, one that Gerard sat down in. A single light bulb was hanging from the ceiling, spider web and dust around it.

“Okay so for the record, you’ll have to help me if I can’t reach something,” Frank informed Gerard as he crouched down to open a box, back turned to the other male. “I’m like 4’9- okay no I’m actually more like 5’6 but it feels as if I’m that short. It fucking sucks being short, y’know? Like I’m always going to ridiculed for my height, I’ve always been. Just fuck off with you and your tallness, people who are over 6 feet are like fucking giants, like your brother for example.”

“Actually I believe my brother is right under 6 feet, like an inch or two shorter,” Gerard pointed out and got a snort from Frank as an answer. “If it helps you anything, my brother is like an inch taller than me and just because he’s younger than me I feel pretty fucking short, but I’m actually around the average height. It’s hard to realize that your younger sibling suddenly is taller than you, I’ve always been taller than him. He must have stopped growing after that one time I threw holy water at him and told him to stop growing, because really he didn’t grow any longer after that.”

A giggle left Frank’s lips and he picked up a box of ice-cream and tucked it under his arm. “Fuck your brother.”

“Oh god no don’t fuck my brother.”

“What if I want to fuck your brother?”

“I already think that spot is reserved for another midget.”

Frank laughed again and the sound of it rang in Gerard’s ears. He felt a smile tug at his lips and he couldn’t help but to let it show. Not because anything was funny because, he was being dead fucking serious with what he said, but because Frank’s laughter was just adorable. Not that he was interested in the small punk, no no, but he seemed like a pretty cool guy. All the people that Gerard knew was either too preppy or jock like for his taste, except for his brother and his friends, but those weren’t even his friends to begin with.

The two spoke carelessly as Frank kept on counting the things, Gerard checking them off if they were correct. There were multiple instances when Frank had started to talk too much or he listened so intensely on Gerard that he forgot to count the things, and may had to redo it. Other times he counted wrong and had to redo it, making the whole process of unpacking things and checking them off taking what they guessed to be twice as long as it should. Both Ryan and Mikey checked up on them, just to make sure they hadn’t died or anything.

“And done!” Gerard said giddily as he put the clipboard and pen down on the table. “That took approximately an hour and a half for us to get done which admittedly was way too long for just unpacking four fucking boxes of things. Literally how the fuck did we succeed with that? We must be the world’s slowest workers, I’m sure we would have been fired immediately if we had such productivity at a real job.”

“Well this is kind of a real job, for me at least,” Frank said and placed one box on top of another. “Not for you because you don’t earn anything, actually I just realized it can still be work even if you don’t earn anything. Also your brother said that you’ll earn 50% of his today’s earnings which probably isn’t that much really but whatever. By the way don’t think that I want to work as anything like this when I get older because I really fucking don’t, I’m gonna be a fucking rockstar… That sounded way lamer when I said it out loud.”

Gerard laughed and shook his head almost pitifully. “Yeah, it totally did. But it does sound cool being on stage like that, either singing or playing an instrument like a real fucking star. Personally I aspire to be an artist but I don’t think that pursuing a music career is anything wrong either, sounds hella cool.”

“Artist? That sounds cool as well, I can’t even draw a stick figure,” Frank said and turned around. “But yeah, I would love to play on stage as well. Just thinking about it, standing there, singing and playing guitar - it makes me happy. Like I fucking lose my mind when I play, it’s fucking sick. I guess you could say that I’m a part of the music, or it feels like it. My dad and grandpa are such inspirations for me and one day I would love to live up to their names, y’know? One day my dream will hopefully come true.”

“Now you’re the one that sounds like an aspiring but miserably failing artist and not me,” Gerard snorted, earning a small chuckle out of Frank. “You should try to pursue a music career if that’s what you’re passionate about. Are you going to enroll to a music college or are you even going to college?”

“Don’t think so, I rather just start up a band right after high school and play underground shows and shit like that, get me?” Frank almost worriedly raised on his eyebrows, as if Gerard wouldn’t understand.

“Of course I do, I’m a reject emo,” Frank laughed again, and Gerard smiled because really, he didn’t think that his lame but true statement would be anything of hilarity. “But whatever, we should get back to my brother and Mr. Grumpy Pants. I don’t understand what he has against you, there’s like nothing you’ve done. Okay you were like five minutes late, seemed very careless about everything around you and literally have a fucking tattoo despite being at the mere age of seventeen.”

“Ah man, he’s seen the scorpion?” Frank asked and let his fingers run over the black ink on the right side of his neck.

“Yep, pointed it out on the first day I came here as he apparently met you then,” Gerard confessed, and as Frank walked by him he took an extra look at the masterpiece. “I like it though, it’s pretty damn cool. Personally I’m absolutely terrified of needles, I would like to get a tattoo one day but needles man, they are scary,” he shivered slightly at the thought of the sharp and thin metal piece piercing his white skin. “Do you have any more tattoos? Are you planning on getting any?”

“Uh yeah, or well I mean that I’m supposed to get some more,” Frank scratched his neck awkwardly almost as if Gerard’s quick questions over lumped him. “In the future I’ll get some. I may or may not have gotten this scorpion tattoo illegally but you’re not gonna tell anyone, are ya?”

“Oh god no why would I,” Gerard assured him. “It’s fucking cool though, ever think that maybe I would get to sketch something for you?” Right after the question left his lips he realized that it may not have been the most appropriate question to ask after not even knowing the guy for twelve hours. But then again Frank was just so easy to talk to, and it almost felt as if they had known each other for a good while, at least to Gerard.

“You think you could do that?” Frank asked excitedly and turned to look the older one right in the eye. His eyes were sparkling with hope and Gerard almost melted at the spot. For some damn reason the guy was kinda cute, not that Gerard ever would admit that out loud though.

“Of course,” he smiled kindly at the shorter boy, who grinned widely at him. The two of them then exited the storage room and entered the main room where Ryan and Mikey were both busy by the front. Neither seemed to notice that Gerard and Frank had arrived and so the two boys just sat down by the small table where Gerard’s art supplies were placed. Despite never ever showing his drawings and sketches to people other than Mikey, Gerard found Frank’s enthusiasm about it to be pleasant and so when Frank asked if he could see of them, the blond wasn't too hard to convince.

He showed him the drawings he’d made inspired by death, which were a lot. Others were inspired by certain songs that he had listened to - with the song title and artist written on the paper as well - and a few here and there that were from his happy times. There was also a good hunch of drawings that were superhero related, one of Frank’s personal favorites being a drawing of Gerard and Mikey as two superheroes, but as children. It was based of the things they used to play as when they were younger, and Gerard couldn’t help but to smile as Frank’s eyes scanned over his drawings as if they were the most well prized diamonds. It made him happy to know someone cared so much about something that he’d made.

“Oh, this one, this one!” Frank said and jumped up and down in his chair out of sheer excitement. “I would love to get this one as a tattoo.” The page which he had commented on was with a drawing of a demon. The demon had its wings wrapped around itself as rain was trickling down on it. There were cracks in the demon, almost as if it was falling apart, but then there was also a small light coming from the demon. It wasn’t one that Gerard liked to think of as it was reflecting on the bad alcohol habits he used to have when he was younger, and the demon was picturing just that. He being the demon of course, the wings wrapping themselves around him representing the ones who supported him, the rain the alcohol and the light being the small part of Gerard that was trying to push his bad habits away. It was one that meant a lot to him and not a drawing that Frank would have inked on his skin.

“I barely think you would want that,” Gerard said weakly and laughed nervously as he flipped the page. “It’s- it’s something that’s close to my heart.”

Frank looked up at him with his hazel eyes, a pair of eyes filled with sympathy, understanding and care. It was almost as he understood what Gerard meant by that - which he probably did - but on a much deeper scale. The whole him just sent out signals, “ _I_ _understand_ _you_ ”, and Gerard couldn't help but to feel his throat close up at that.

He swallowed his feelings whole, letting them know that he was not going to turn back to the dark parts of his mind. “I have a few others that you might want to check out though, if you’re interested.”

Frank smiled brightly at him again and looked down at the sketch book. “Of course!”


End file.
